What is wrong with my dog?

[Dolomite_supafly]

For those of y'all with dogs with seasonal allergies, there is a new drug called Apoquel that is very effective at treating the symptoms.  It has the benefits of steroids without the side effects.  The only problem is that it is so popular and innovative that the manufacturer could charge almost anything for it.  They have not maxed out the price so far, but it is more expensive than traditional steroids.  The other problem is availability; the manufacturer severely underestimated how popular it would be, so it had a spotty supply for the last two years.

 

 I encourage anyone with a dog with allergies to do a food allergy trial.  Food allergies are the least common allergy, but are the easiest to prevent once diagnosed.  A true food allergy trial involves feeding a food made with hydrolyzed proteins (broken down on a molecular level) for two months.  Nothing else (other food, human food, treats) can be fed during that time.  After two months, you add one ingredient at a time and watch for allergic reactions.  Food allergy trials are ponderous, the food is more expensive than regular food, and cannot identify 100% of food allergic dogs, but if you find the one or two ingredients to which your dog is allergic, it will save you much time, money, and suffering in the long term.  Once the ingredients are identified, then you can choose any food that doesn't contain those products, generally speaking.  Sometimes you do have a dog that only does well when kept on the hydrolyzed protein diet.

 

There are many foods labeled "hypoallergenic" by the manufacturers, but those foods are more correctly called "novel diets."  Novel diets contain ingredients that are not found in conventional foods, such as kangaroo and oats.  The problem with novel diets is that there can be cross reaction between similar ingredients (such as a beef allergy dog reacting to lamb), and there can be contamination of the food with other proteins.  Sometimes you can identify or prevent food allergies using a novel ingredient diet, but failure of such a diet does not mean the animal does not have a food allergy.

 

The hydrolyzed diets that I recommend are Hill's z/d, Purina HA, or Royal Canin Anallergenic (terrible name choice on that last one).  They are all more expensive than regular versions made by the same companies, but may be less expensive than some of the niche novel ingredient foods.  Also, when comparing foods, you really should compare cost per meal rather than cost per bag because the amounts fed vary greatly between brands.

 

Gus, which you helped on, is allergic to something used to process chicken for dog food. We have found food without any chicken in it and he does great. I also give him cooked chicken from time to time and he doesn't have any problems. But food with chicken meal cause violent diarrhea. Over the course of about 6 months we went though hundreds of dollars worth of food before we found out it was a chicken allergy.

 

I do have a question, what is a good "diet" dog food? Are there any that are chicken free? The reason why is Gus eats more than he really should. We have tried reducing his intake but when we get to a level that maintains his weight he gets grumpy and will protect his food from other animals. As long as he is getting what HE wants he could not care less about the other animals but if he thinks he is back on his diet he becomes an ass.

 

Gus is sounding more and more human by the day.

[tennesseetiger]

For those of y'all with dogs with seasonal allergies, there is a new drug called Apoquel that is very effective at treating the symptoms.  It has the benefits of steroids without the side effects.  The only problem is that it is so popular and innovative that the manufacturer could charge almost anything for it.  They have not maxed out the price so far, but it is more expensive than traditional steroids.  The other problem is availability; the manufacturer severely underestimated how popular it would be, so it had a spotty supply for the last two years.

 

 I encourage anyone with a dog with allergies to do a food allergy trial.  Food allergies are the least common allergy, but are the easiest to prevent once diagnosed.  A true food allergy trial involves feeding a food made with hydrolyzed proteins (broken down on a molecular level) for two months.  Nothing else (other food, human food, treats) can be fed during that time.  After two months, you add one ingredient at a time and watch for allergic reactions.  Food allergy trials are ponderous, the food is more expensive than regular food, and cannot identify 100% of food allergic dogs, but if you find the one or two ingredients to which your dog is allergic, it will save you much time, money, and suffering in the long term.  Once the ingredients are identified, then you can choose any food that doesn't contain those products, generally speaking.  Sometimes you do have a dog that only does well when kept on the hydrolyzed protein diet.

 

There are many foods labeled "hypoallergenic" by the manufacturers, but those foods are more correctly called "novel diets."  Novel diets contain ingredients that are not found in conventional foods, such as kangaroo and oats.  The problem with novel diets is that there can be cross reaction between similar ingredients (such as a beef allergy dog reacting to lamb), and there can be contamination of the food with other proteins.  Sometimes you can identify or prevent food allergies using a novel ingredient diet, but failure of such a diet does not mean the animal does not have a food allergy.

 

The hydrolyzed diets that I recommend are Hill's z/d, Purina HA, or Royal Canin Anallergenic (terrible name choice on that last one).  They are all more expensive than regular versions made by the same companies, but may be less expensive than some of the niche novel ingredient foods.  Also, when comparing foods, you really should compare cost per meal rather than cost per bag because the amounts fed vary greatly between brands.

That is exactly what the vet gave my dog and it worked wonders.

[bersaguy]

That is exactly what the vet gave my dog and it worked wonders.

Yep, it works great and that is what my Vet had Kasey on until she could not get it any longer. Last visit to get he a new refill of it and her vet said she could not get it any longer. It is fairly expensive but how much is to much for your best friend. To me I will pay the 70+ buck a month for it because it works. Can't get her to take the new stuff she put her on so that was a waste of money.

[dawgdoc]

Gus, which you helped on, is allergic to something used to process chicken for dog food. We have found food without any chicken in it and he does great. I also give him cooked chicken from time to time and he doesn't have any problems. But food with chicken meal cause violent diarrhea. Over the course of about 6 months we went though hundreds of dollars worth of food before we found out it was a chicken allergy.
 
I do have a question, what is a good "diet" dog food? Are there any that are chicken free? The reason why is Gus eats more than he really should. We have tried reducing his intake but when we get to a level that maintains his weight he gets grumpy and will protect his food from other animals. As long as he is getting what HE wants he could not care less about the other animals but if he thinks he is back on his diet he becomes an ass.
 
Gus is sounding more and more human by the day.

It may be hard to find one specifically without chicken just because it is such a common protein. My most recommended diet food, Hill's Metabolic, has chicken. You can try dividing his feedings into multiple smaller meals so he thinks he is eating more.